Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller delivered his fifth State of the City Address, sharing city and community efforts on various issues, including public safety, housing, homelessness solutions, youth and families programs, downtown revitalization, equity and inclusion, economic development, and sustainability. Mayor Keller’s remarks centered around “the power of us,” acknowledging the common values and grit that bond residents even as they navigate big challenges and work to build a better future.
In his remarks, Mayor Keller noted how the city is doubling down on its public safety efforts in a manner that works for the community. These efforts include continuing to invest in the Albuquerque Community Safety response system, cracking down on guns this summer, addressing gaps in the criminal justice system, increasing support resources for police, and adding funding to address warrant backlogs. The Mayor shared progress the city has made, including an 8% reduction in violent crime, a 40% reduction in property crime, and over 170 murder suspect arrests in the past 17 months.
Mayor Keller discussed steps the city is taking to address housing and homelessness, such as using underutilized properties by converting hotels into affordable housing and proposing zoning changes to encourage development. The city continues providing wrap-around care at the Gateway Center, cleaning up encampments and getting individuals connected to services, and strengthening enforcement and outreach efforts to create safer communities.
The Mayor is focused on improving the quality of life for residents across the city by nearly doubling the number of dog parks over the next few years, expanding pickleball and aquatics facilities, upgrading and building a new community and multi-generational centers, connecting historic neighborhoods with the Rail Trail, and giving residents access to world-class training for jobs in the film industry at the Rail Yards.
Watch Mayor Keller’s full address here.
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